Electronic Arts Half-Life 2: Episode One

Back in 2004 I was eagerly awaiting Half-Life II along with many other gamers. I heard so much about it that I put it on my “must buy” list. When I finally got my hands on a copy, I can’t say I was disappointed. The graphics were even better than those of Doom III’s, and everything else seemed to be about right. Like the original Half-Life, the game was very engaging. I made up and posted in a gaming forum a list of my own personal “2004 games of the year,” and Half-Life II topped the list. Although I mentioned that I didn’t consider Half-Life II to be a great game, I liked it nevertheless and said it was the best new game I played that year.

For some reason I didn’t get around to playing Episode One, the expansion to Half-Life II, until recently. Maybe the considerable system requirements kept me away for awhile, or perhaps I was busy with other games or even busy with work if any of you know what “work” is. In any case, Episode One just didn’t seem to be compelling enough to try right away.

Now that I’ve played Episode One, I can see that one of the most common observations about the game is correct: It is indeed “short.” I rarely feel a game is short, but with Episode One I cannot escape that conclusion. The first time I played it, it took me maybe seven hours to finish.

What goes on during that seven hours? Simply put, much of it is rehashed Half-Life II. Alyx and “Dog” are back, and you’ll see more of them in Episode One. Alyx, for instance, will be by your side for almost all of the adventure. Both indoor and outdoor areas look much the same as they did in Half-Life II although the graphics have been “enhanced” to allow for more robust lighting. You’ll be peering down a narrow flashlight beam in some dark areas, but fortunately you won’t need to swap your light for your weapon like in Doom III. You’ll need to solve a lot of puzzles along the way, and much of the seven hours of the game you’ll be engaged in finding solutions to those puzzles.

Will you like Half-Life II: Episode One? I think most shooter fans will like Episode One. It looks good, has very good gameplay, and it follows in the footsteps of the older Half-Life games. Some gamers might gripe a bit about the short length of the game, but if quality matters more than quantity, the length should not bother you too much.

Did I like Episode One? I think it’s a decent game. For the $10 I paid for it, I can’t complain too much. My biggest gripe might be the incessant attacks of the ant lions, a holdover from Half-Life II. I didn’t like the ant lions attacking in Half-Life II, and I don’t like them in Episode One either. Once I discovered how to prevent the attacks of those annoying beasts, though, it didn’t matter that much. Sometimes the less likable parts of a game are good in that it’s a relief once those parts are done. Once Half-Life II: Episode One is finished, though, I can say that in some ways it’s very impressive. For better or for worse, we need to live with the decisions of the game developers, decisions that lately seem to be poor decisions in many cases. In Episode One, I’d say those decisions were more often “better” rather than “worse.”

Definitly HL2 is and always will the most popular FPS game in history. And now with this excellent expansion is even better. BUT !!! Steam is always try make head ache to all of us. How is posibble, I install the game and I need to update the game from to 70% to 100% to be able to play, What happen if I don’t have any decent ADSL conection at home ??? I can’t play. So I carry my CPU to my office to connect to a 512kb ADSL connection, and after 6 hours the was be complete able to be played. 6 HOURS, this is almost imposible, how it could be ??

Be sure that the game has anything you want in a game of this class: graphics, great history, emotion, thriller, even scare; but is not justified that STEAM make this kind of “barrier”.

Thank you, and have a good play.